How To Read More Books
Article excerpt
Are we approaching a reading crisis or does “THE END OF READING IS HERE” just make for a catchy headline? Sounds like a lot of hand-wringing to me, but reading is fun! I hit a rut in my reading and was amazed at how much an e-reader helped me dive back into content over 280 […]
July is Disability Pride Month! Every year, we celebrate the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was passed in the summer of 1990. This month celebrates disabled resilience, shoves aside shame, and embraces disabled joy. There is no one way to be disabled, just check out our stories! This year alone, we’ve had a host of top-tier new books about disability hit shelves. In addition to Mother Tongue, which I highlighted a little bit ago, I have three more 2026 titles that are perfect for your Disability Pride Month TBR and beyond.
I Identify as Blind: A Brazen Celebration of Disability Culture, Identity, and Power by Lachi
Award-winning recording artist Lachi breaks down harmful stereotypes and assumptions with her new book, I Identify as Blind. A trailblazer, Lachi is the first openly disabled National Trustee of the Recording Academy and the CEO of RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities). With her signature humor and wit, Lachi highlights disability icons like Senator Tammy Duckworth, Breaking Bad star RJ Mitte, Microsoft executive Jenny Lay-Flurrie, and so many more. With every new figure, Lachi dispels the shame our ableist society attaches to disability and illustrates that our differences can form a source of great strength that benefits everyone.
A Way Home: A Memoir of Losing Yourself, and the Beauty of Returning by Cinelle Barnes
In 2023, Cinelle Barnes is sitting in a café working on an article for a travel magazine when she suffers a traumatic brain injury, and her whole life is turned upside down. She was already well into her latest manuscript, a travelog of her experience returning to the Philippines after moving to the U.S. twenty years earlier. Piece by piece, Barnes pulls her story back into place, wandering through her memories and trying to restore her understanding of home. Her prose shines on the page as she walks us through her life, the memories of every delicious dish and inviting smell that conjure up some of her most vivid childhood memories.
All My Dead Cats and Other Losses: Practicing Good Grief in a Culture That Fears Mourning by s.e. smith
Was I immediately drawn in by the title? Yes. Is this book about pet loss? Not exactly. In this vignette-like collection of thoughts on grief, smith walks us through the many facets of grief, one of the world’s most complex and misunderstood experiences. They interview everyone from death doulas to funeral home directors to psychologists, tapping into the overwhelming feeling that is losing something or someone you love. And, of course, there are cats. smith’s recollections of each cat springboard into a new gem of wisdom on living and loving life. What is grief but the proof that we have loved?
You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.